Things Fall Apart Essay

1077 words - 5 pages

"Things Fall Apart" is an amazing novel by Chinua Achebe that illustrates the conflict occurring during the period of British colonization of Africa. The novel is told from the perspective of the native people of Ibo. The novel takes place in Umuofia, in Nigeria, in an area where their culture is indigenous to the Ibo people. In "Things Fall Apart" it seems that the African Ibo culture was strong and functional, such as in its religious beliefs and customs, government, economic, and social coherence. The order of Ibo society became interrupted and began to unravel when the white missionaries entered Africa and introduced Christianity. Oknowko, the main character in the novel, is the ...view middle of the document...

Brown. They first attacked the outcasts, or osu, of the Ibo society in order to expand on the ideas of Christianity and how their belief system was not an accurate portrayal. Their main focus was to introduce Christianity, but at the same time they were taking away the value system and belief system that had been in place. An example is when Mr. Kiaga approached two outcasts and told them they must shave their hair in order to let go of their heathen beliefs. Once this was done they could enter the church. The Ibo society believed that once you were an outcast you were not worthy of a razor and if you dare to touch one you will die. In a sense by disavowing their old belief system, the missionaries were creating a new belief system. The missionaries gave examples of how their belief system was not accurate, such as the missionaries taking care of twins, and even in the case of shaving their heads. No one died in either situation. The Christians even lived in the Evil Forest in order to prove that their belief system was not accurate. The traditional belief system had been corrupted by the impact of the missionaries and there was encouragement of disavowing the traditional beliefs of the Ibo society. The Ibo society had no centralized government. The government was basically democratic. The elders were mainly in rule and other groups played their roles in the government process, such as the secret societies that were masked men who sat and listened to judicial issues and made verdicts when necessary. After the entrance of the missionaries, the government basically disintegrated and the white man set up there own government. The arrival of the English laws alters the Ibo's way of life with regard to the adhering to the rules of the society. For example, the white courts had decided how to distribute land that was in dispute. The white courts disregarded the Ibo's customs about land. The white men took cruel measures in imposing their power. An example is when the district commissioner invites the leaders of the clan for a meeting...

Other Essays On Things Fall Apart

490 words - 2 pages
Lance had fixed up the shed pretty well. He only did the inside and messed up the outside so it would look like it would fall apart in seconds. Inside there was a bed for sleeping, a table and three chairs, and a small chargeable TV. The walls and roofs had boards nailed onto them to keep the shed from collapsing and some weird items were hung on the wall that Lance collected from a few dimensions. Life wasn't bad for Lance; he would make some

1033 words - 5 pages
routes, money, and power, which they sought at the expense of native populations. In Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart , this change is illustrated from the perspective of an African tribe; the forceful nature with which British law and government were imposed disrupted tribal life and altered it forever. This is an outstanding thesis statement.The societies of Africa at this time were very diverse, so the responses to European conquest ranged

9063 words - 37 pages
times. More than those of any other African writer, his writings have helped to develop what is known as African literature today. And the single book which has helped him to launch his "revolution" is the slim, classic volume called Things Fall Apart (1958). Having been the first, so to speak, to scale the top of the iroko, this eagle Achebe, and other male eaglets after him, arguably have appropriated all that they have found there.This paper

785 words - 4 pages
. However, sometimes relationships fall apart, while others seem to grow stronger. What is that thing that binds or destroys a relationship? In a multi-paragraph essay, do the following:Describe one of the following relationships betweenThe boys and their familiesThe boys and the schoolThe boys and Mr. KeatingBetween the boys themselvesHow do these relationships develop? Or dissolve?SymbolismSeveral things in the film achieve a status of symbols

928 words - 4 pages
killing King Duncan, he breaks down and shows his fear and anxiety. He only accomplishes his task after being pressed into it by his wife, Lady Macbeth. Evil soon envelops his soul and he goes on a killing rampage. As he does so, he puts Scotland on hold. It quickly goes out of control and citizens begin to build an uprising. As Macbeth's world begins to fall apart, things only seem to get worse. His subjects leave him, his wife commits suicide, and

1001 words - 5 pages
There are many different reasons why people in today's society fall into the trap of drug use. Some may turn to drugs for the comfort in a lonely time in their life. Others may try drug because the people around them use drugs and the peer pressure gets to them. I think this is the case for most of my peers in college who haven't done drugs before. They are forced into a new environment, that is college, and now they use drugs because there new

2147 words - 9 pages
education. Within the public school system 98% of black children attend. That is less than 2% going to private institutions where SAT and ACT prep courses are offered for free and are apart of their usual curriculum. If public schools were given more money by the government and not looked over for "more important" things, then children that attend public schools could be offered more programs that could better benefit their education in the future. This

1122 words - 5 pages
Of all the facilities humankind has developed in its timely history, language has been, is and will continue to be the one attribute that sets us apart from all other intelligence. The ability to communicate clearly with each other is so important and beneficial, yet vastly overlooked and grossly misused. As intelligent beings, we all have choices that need to be made, and motives behind our decisions; however, it is language that allows us to

845 words - 4 pages
deal." He replied by saying, "If I tried to get away with it, then other people would get away with it- and pretty soon we would be right back to the Dark Ages again, where everybody would battle against everybody else." In George's, Hazel's, and everybody else's eyes the way we have things now is bad and terrifying, and that it would fall apart. The time period they are in now is 2081, so the time period we are in now would be referred to as the

1016 words - 5 pages
this means that we have gone to the lowest point in one's life; as everyone needs a dream to follow. Without them we can have no reason to live and in a way doing drugs and alcohol will lead you to many pains, or worst yet death. We are all a part of a puzzle and the way to keep it that way should be positive and fun. You should not have to use a stimulants to bring the pieces together; it will soon fall apart. There is one person at fault in this

1759 words - 8 pages
will be bad because, as I mentioned already, other countries will have an incentive to break agreements of institutions rather than enforcing them because enforcing them is more expensive than breaking them. Thus institutions will break apart. Second, unilateralism is bad because other countries will also do unilateral decisions (and this will stop cooperation and this will harm everybody) and at the same time institutions will fall apart, which is bad. I advocate that the U.S. should do a little of institutions and unilateralism as it does now. This way it gets the benefits of both worlds.

Similar Papers

608 words - 3 pages
In the book Things Fall Apart, the main character, a man named Okonkwo, is a very angry man. During the story, he tries to take his anger out on his children and wives by beating them. His anger is probably because he had a terrible life growing up because of his father being a lazy man. The fact that showing any kind of emotion in the tribe besides for anger is considered a sign of weakness probably helped in his struggle to be a better man

1020 words - 5 pages
loss of identity.Despite the fact that author Achebe doesn't seem to keen about the colonization, he does mention some positive aspects. He clearly does not object to the discovery of and learning about new religions and cultures. He presents a strong argument in favor of discussion as a way of understanding. In Things Fall Apart, the missionary Mr. Brown and Akunna, one of the tribal elders, often spend long hours in discussion, and although

1438 words - 6 pages
Ninth grade represents a pivotal point in a student's academic career. Students no longer have the liberty to give simple answers; now they have to think. Answers in high school are not so easily available. Characters become more difficult to define, and even a patch of grass has some ambiguous meaning. A prime example comes from Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart. Ezinma is considered to be a minor character by many, and by word count

1203 words - 5 pages
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe both involve the colonization on Africa. In Heart of Darkness, the author talks about how savage the natives were and how much there was a need to update the living conditions of the natives and to help them become better people. In Things Fall Apart, the author talks about how the white people came in with their bicycles and their new religion. He talks about how they